When it comes to the world of funeral pre-planning, 2013 turned out to be a very thought-provoking and pivotal year. Many changes occurred whose impact will be acutely felt in 2014 and beyond. Funeral home owners were confronted with a host of questions and challenges regarding their pre-need programs. Owners I have personally spoken with have been wrestling with these types of questions. How would you answer them?

•     Should I continue to offer funeral pre-planning to my families or not? Is it really necessary? Will I lose market share and families if I don’t offer this service?

•     Should I offer pre-need insurance or funeral trust funding options? What about annuities or traditional final expense insurance plans?

•     Is pre-need the saving grace for my declining business? Is the fact that I’m aggressively marketing pre-need through telemarketers, social media and/or direct mail costing me business instead of bringing me business? Am I making families in my community upset and annoyed with my marketing practices? Are my marketing practices helping or hurting my business?

•     What do I do about my pre-need pre-funded funeral financial shortfalls on guaranteed contracts? Who or what will make me whole?

•     Is it ethically or morally right for me to charge my families more money in order to offer them a guaranteed pre-paid funeral plan?

•     Do I continue to “guarantee” my pre-funded funeral prearrangement plans? Do I “not guarantee” my pre-funded pre-need plans? Do I “only guarantee” my goods and services and not the rest of the pre-need plan? To guarantee or not guarantee – that is the question?

•     Do I need a full time pre-need representative representing my business? What about a part-time representative?

•     Can anyone, other than a licensed funeral director, offer and/or assist my families with any part of their pre-need planning? Should anyone, other than a licensed funeral director, be able to discuss funeral pre-planning with consumers?

•     Do I need specialized pre-need sales training for myself or members of my staff?

•     Am I too reliant on pre-need insurance company commissions? Can I do without them?

  There are no quick, simple or easy answers to any of these questions. The right answer for your specific funeral home must take into account many diverse and market unique criteria. Here is what I believe, based on my longtime experience as a funeral director and funeral pre-planning professional.

•     All people need to plan ahead. It’s simply the “right thing to do”. Without thoughtful and careful pre-planning all kinds of turmoil can occur.

•     The number of people who will require Medicaid assistance will only increase in the years ahead. They will need to plan ahead and have a reliable, secure, financial vehicle to place their pre-paid funeral funds with, prior to qualifying for Medicaid coverage.

•     The majority of people, who have already pre-arranged their own funeral and/or funeral of a loved one, report their overall planning experience was highly positive and beneficial. People by and large enjoy the process. They appreciate learning and understanding all their choices and options when it comes to how they will be remembered and finally laid to rest.

•     The fundamental value of offering and operating a pre-need program is not in whether you guarantee or not guarantee your pre-funding options. It’s not about pre-funding or not pre-funding or even pre-planning or not pre-planning. All that is secondary, to the unquestionable value of a professionally trained, considerate, trusting individual, from your funeral home, sitting down with everyone in your community and reviewing the significance of a final remembrance farewell. This is where the rubber meets the road!

•     This subject is most effectively communicated, face to face, in an open and undisturbed environment. No website, social media platform, marketing or public relations campaign can take the place of one human being directly connecting with another human being and sharing their innermost thoughts, concerns, opinions, questions and fears.

  Whatever answers are right for you, may this New Year bring you all the joy, health and happiness you deserve and can share with those around you. Have a question for me you’d like answered? E-mail me at funeralprofitprotectors@gmail.com or visit my website at www.funeralprofitprotectors.com to learn more.